Package for dispensing wire with preset tension

ABSTRACT

A combination package for use by coil manufacturers required to wind coils of wire at relatively high speed and constant tension. The package comprises a cylindrical container having a spool of wire enclosed therein, the spool adapted to be maintained in a vertical disposition during the dispensing of the wire, the wire adapted to be stripped off of the upper end of the spool through a central passageway in the cover of the container. A wire tensioning device is fixedly connected to the upper end of the spool coaxial therewith, this device comprising a disc having a plurality of radially extending resilient filaments that protrude beyond the periphery of the upper end of the spool. The upper end of the spool is a conventional annular flange. As the wire is stripped off the spool in a rotary movement, it strikes and deflects the filaments while moving around the upper annular flange. The impedance to free stripping produces the tension in the wire, such tension being a factor of the wire gauge, the thickness and density of filaments and to a much lesser degree, the diameter of the discs and the speed of stripping of the wire. The manufacturer of the package furnishes the entire combination with preset tension capability to the coil manufacturer. Various structures of wire tensioning devices are disclosed including axially spaced multiple discs and rings of filaments installed on the interior of the housing overlying the upper flange end of the spool.

United States Patent [191,

Jordan [75] Inventor: [73] Assignee: Chicago Magnet Wire Corporation,

[ PACKAGE FOR DISPENSING WIRE WITH PRESETTENSION Anthony Jordan, DesPlaines, lll.

[52] U.S. Cl. 242/l29.8,'242/l37.1 [51] Int. Cl...,.. B65h 49/00, B65h49/18 [58] Field of Search 242/129.8, 128, 137.1, 242/147 R; 66/125;57/106-108 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,096,951 7/1963Jensen 242/137.1 2,479,826 8/1949 Frick et a1. 242/128 2,838,922 6/1958Gift 66/125 3,202,380 8/1965 Hosbein 242/128 3,425,647 2/1969 Kovaleski242/128 3,632,062 1/1972 Sole 242/147 R 2,590,358 3/1952 Williams 206/462,919,829 l/l960 'Forrer 220/115 3/1970 Schu|z.....-..-

PrimaryExaminerLeonard D. Christian Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Silverman &Cass 57- ABSTRACT A combination package for use by coil manufacturers1451 May 21,1974- required to wind coils of wire at relatively highspeed and constant tension. The package comprises a cylindricalcontainer having a spool of wire enclosed therein, the spool adapted tobe maintained in a vertical disposition during the dispensing of thewire, the

.wire adapted to be stripped off of the upper end of the spool through acentral passageway in the cover of the container. A wire tensioningdevice is fixedly connected to the upper end of the spool coaxialtherewith, this device comprising a disc having a plurality of radiallyextending resilient filaments that protrude beyond the periphery of theupper end of the spool.

' The upper end of the spool is a conventional annular flange. As thewire is stripped off the spool in a rotary movement, it strikes anddeflects the filaments while moving around the upper annular flange. Theimpedance to free stripping produces the tension in the wire, suchtension being a factor of the wire gauge, the thickness and density offilaments and to a much lesser degree, the diameter of the discs and thespeed of stripping of the wire. The-manufacturer of the packagefurnishes the entire combination with preset tension capability to thecoil manufacturer. Various structures of wire tensioning devices aredisclosed including axially spaced multiple discs and rings of filamentsinstalled on the interior of the housing overlying the upper flange endof the spool.

9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED MAY 21 m4 SHEHZUFZ ,an insulatedcoating.

. TENSION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention herein relatesgenerally to the art of winding coils of wire and more particularly, isconcemed with structure for achieving constant tension in the wire whileit is being wound upon high speed, automatic coil winding machines.

Many electrical devices utilize coils of wound wire. Typically, ballastsfor fluorescent lamps utilize coils which are wound upon paper tubes.The conventional coil winding machine has a steel mandrel rotating athigh speed, the mandrel being engaged within a long paper tube uponwhich the wire is wound. A large number of coils is wound simultaneouslyat spaced locations along the length of the tube, each coil being fed awire which is derived from an independent supply. After formation, thecoils are sawed apart. Thus, there are as many supplies as coils, eachsupply being disposed in and stripped out of its own container. Copperor aluminum wire, suitably coated with insulating enamels and the like,and of wire gauges running from very fine to coarse (for example, 35 to'2 2 A.W.G.) must be wound simultaneously from all supplies at speeds ashigh as 1,000 feet per minute. Some coil winding machines will windtwenty or more coils simultaneously. i

The high speed winding of coils requires that the winding must bestopped and started quickly and without tangling or breakage. This canbe achieved by accurately tensioning the wire, van effect which can beachieved by means of several different typesof tensioning devicesavailable commercially. Such devices, requiring manual adjustment foreach wire and every difit is stripped off the spool andout of thepackage,

thereby being impeded in such movement. Such disc means have been usedfor purposes of preventing the wire from dropping off the spool and toprevent tangling and breaking, but so far as is known, such disc meanshave not been used in a combination package which is sold with presettension capable of being achieved when the wire is stripped out of saidpackage.

There are many advantages of the invention in addition to those whichare understood from the above description, these including: the enablingof unskilled personnelto connect the wire to the winding machine sincethe tension is preset; economy of floor space, since the package takesno more space than the conventional bucket without the tensioningcontrol; and achievement of very unifonn coilsize on any given mandrel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, there is provided acomplete package which may be purchased by thecoil manufacturer and fromwhich he can connect the wire directly to his coil winding machinewithout any intervening tensioning device, the package automatically.producing a preset tension in the wire while the coils ferent gauge ofwire, are normallydisposed between the wire supply and the feed wheelsof the winding machine. Wire is normally suppliedin buckets at thepresent time, being stripped out of the buckets or off spools containedin the buckets. Some tensioning devices are installed adjacent thebucketand others elsewhere. It can be appreciated that in the event that anytensioning device is not properly adjusted, breakage'and tangling mayoccur. A single tangled or broken wire represents a break-down of theentire machine until that wire has been repaired. Repair is not simplesince the wire has Each change inwire supply normally requires areadjustment of the wire tensioning means, and in any event, requires arethreading of the wire through the tensioning means. Some tensioningmeans have capstans about which the wire must be given a complete turn;some have pinching structures which have to be opened to insert thewire, etc.

' The invention obviates prior art problems by the provision of acomplete package in which the tension of are being wound. The packagemanufacturer preferably marks the package with the preset tension andthe manufacturerof coils purchases according to his'requirements.

The package consists of a container in which the spool of wire ismounted in a vertical position with the wire being led off the upperflange end of the spool and guided through a central passageway in thecover of the container. While the wire is being stripped from the spool,the spool remains stationary and the wire uncoils in a rotary movementpassing along the periphery of the upper flange end. Disc means arecoaxially fastened to the upper flange end having a plurality ofradially outwardly extending resilient filaments which are struck anddeflected by the wire as it passes during the stripping process. Theupper flange end is spaced from the inner surface of the side wall ofthe container, which is preferably cylindrical in configuration, and thefilaments extend across the intervening annular space.

The invention comprises choosing the factors which combine to provideany desired preset tension when the wire is stripped off by the windingmachine, these factors including length and density of the filaments,gauge of the wire and diameter of the disc. Obviously other factors areinvolved, but these will not vary greatly in the event that amanufacturer of the package uses a uniform size of spool, container,type of coating, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION or THE DRAWINGS I FIG. I is a perspective viewillustrating schematically a package constructed in accordance with theinvenally along the line 33 of FIG. 2 and in the indicated direction.

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded viewof the package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to that of FIG. 2 butillustrating a modified form of the inventron.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to that of FIG. 2 butillustrating still another modified form of the invention.

FIG. 6a is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of a portion of FIG. 6to show details of the modified form of the invention.

'FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the line7-7 of FIG. 6 and in the indicated direction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Generally, the inventioncomprises a complete package which is sold to the coil manufacturer. Thepackage consists of a spool of wire of a particular gauge and metalhoused within a completely enclosed container and a wire tensioningdevice of a particular kind being mounted upon the upper flange end ofthe spool in one embodiment of the invention. The user merely pulls thefree end of the wire out of the central opening in the top of thecontainer, connects it to his coil winding machine and starts themachine. The wire being stripped from the package will have a presettension and will always maintain this tension during the windingprocess. When the wire has been depleted, the coil manufacturer returnsthe now empty package to the wire manufacturer. The advantages whichaccrue because of the invention have been described above, but it shouldbe manifest that great savings in time result from the invention.

Looking now at FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the package of the invention isdesignated generally by the reference character 10 and is shown in FIG.1 as including a generally cylindrical container 12 which is fullyenclosed. There is a wire 14 which is shown extending from the package10 directly to a coil winding machine 16 which is shown diagrammaticallyas a block. The normal disposition of the parts is such that the wire 14is drawn out of the top of the package 10 and moved upwardly rather thanat the flat angle shown in FIG. 1, this illustration being shown inorder to conserve space on the drawing.

The container 12 is comprised of a lower cylindrical tube 18 having abottom wall 20 within which there is telescopically engaged acylindrical shell 22 that is substantially longer than the tube 18 'sothat a portion protrudes above the tube 18 thereby providing a shoulderat 24. A cylindrical closed top cover member 26 is adaptedtelescopically to engage over the upper end of the shell 22 and if longenough will engage against the shoulder 24. There is a passageway 28 inthe upperwall 30 of the cover member 26 through which the wire 14 is ledduring the unreeling or stripping thereof from the package 10.

A reel or spool 32 of wire of a particular gauge is vertically disposedin the container 12. The spool 32 is of conventional construction andcomprises a central cylindrical or slightly conical core 34 having upperand lower annular flange ends 36 and 38, respectively. The lower flangeend 38 has a central socket 40 into which there is engaged a resilientspring clip 42 of conventional construction so that the entire spool 32may be secured coaxially of the bottom wall 20 by a suitable screw 44passing through the central opening 46 in the said bottom wall 20 andengaging a threaded socket formed in the spring clip 42.

The upper flange end 36 also has a central socket 46 which is adapted toreceive the spring clip 48 therein, this latter spring clip 48 being themeans by which the tensioning device 50 is secured to the upper flangeend 36. The tensioning device 50 comprises a disc 52 whose diameter ispreferably somewhat smaller than the diameter of the upper flange end36-coaxially mounted on the top of said end 36 by means of a screw 54passing through an opening 56 in the disc 52 and into a suitablethreaded socket in the spring clip 48. The disposition of the spool 32in the container 12 is vertical, as stated, with respect to the axis ofthe spool and the container. The inner diameter of the shell 22 issubstantially greater than the other diameter of the flange 36 or thedisc 52 so that there is provided an annular ring-like space 58 betweenthe inner surface of the shell 22 and the assembled disc 52 and flangeend 36.

The tensioning device 50 includesa plurality of relatively stiff butresilient filaments 60 spaced about the periphery of the disc 52 andfirmly secured thereto, these filaments 60 extending across the annularspace 58. The filaments 60 lie in a plane which either comprises theplane of the disc 52 or is parallel therewith. The thickness of the disc52 will normally be substantially greater than the thickness of thefilaments 60 since the filaments are anchored in the disc in somesuitable manner. Preferably the disc is made of two or more fibreboardplates cemented together with the filaments anchored therebetween. Thefilaments 60 are formed of monofilament nylon, somewhat heavier thanheavy fishing line and hence considerably stiffer. Obviously the discsand filaments can be made of other materials than those mentioned, suchas for example different plastics molded and/or cemented together.

The wire package 10 is received from the manufacturer thereof with afree end 14' as shown in FIG. 4 either within the package or threadedthrough the passageway 28. The passageway 28 is formed in any suitablemanner, but preferably comprises the bore of a metal grommet 62 engagedin a perforation 64 in the center of the upper wall 30 of the covermember 26 by the split ring 63.

As best shown in FIG. 3, when the operation of the winding machine 16strips the wire from the spool 32 unreeling the coils 66 that areengaged on the core 34, there will be a rotational movement-of the upperend 14 around the flange end 36 and the disc 52. As this occurs, themoving wire strikes the filaments 60 and continuously deflects them asshown. The filaments 60 recover their normal disposition after the wirepasses by. The number of filaments and their stiffness will control theimpedance produced and this, combined with the other factors mentionedwill establish the tension which exists in the wire 14. Testing hasshown that this tension can be preset with great accuracy and obtainsfor a wide range of feeding speeds.

In order to increase the impedance of the tensioning device, a secondrow of filaments may be used. Thus, for example, in FIG. 5 there isillustrated a package 10 which is identical structurally to'the package10 except that instead of a tensioning device 50 there is a tensioningdevice 50 which has two rows of filaments at 60'. Using the same densityand size of filaments as in the package 10, but using two rows of suchfilaments will substantially increase the impedance of the wire 14'while passing'around the device 50. The device 50' may be speciallyconstructed of a plurality of discs 52 or it may simply be formed from apair of devices identical to the device 50 secured together.

Another form of the invention is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, this comprisingthe package In this case, the filaments 60" are anchored to a ring 70that is mounted on the interior surface of the shell 22. A band 72 issecured at about the level of the upper flange end 36 and the ring 70 issandwiched between the upper edge of the band 72 and a split clampingloop 74 seated in a suitable groove 76. The open split of the loop 74 isshown having the grasping eyes 78 in FIG. 7 to enable the loop to beinstalled or removed as desired. In this structure,'the filaments 60"are mounted to the ring 70 on the interior thereof and extend radiallyinwardly across the intervening space 58. They must be long enough sothat they overlap the top of the flange end 36 substantially in order toprovide sufficient impedance to the passage of the unreeling wire.

, Tests have been conductedas' hereafter charted to achieve presettension values for wire included in the package. These tests wereconducted using copper wire, but values may vary with difierent metalwires anddifferent wire gauges.

' Density of Disc Filaments Length Degree Diameter along Disc of of(inches) Circumference Filaments Tension (inches) (grams) Light 8 9/inch2 5/! 6 55 Light I0 7/inch 1 5/16 65 Standard 10 2l/inch 1 SIM 200 Heavyl0 2l/inch 1 V4 600 strength of the respective wire gauge. This degreeof and under their control, the tension of the wire remains constantwithout the use of any auxiliary tensioning device between the' wirepackage assembly and the winding machine.

Thetest data are as follows:

.5 P M Q 1 23M-.. i99 (speed) (Eeed) (speed) (speed) TEST 1Gauge 34 (l00g. nominal tension) 100 95 95 (actual tension) 1 STD, l0" 2-LT-l0"l-LT-IO" l-LT-lO (type of l LT-8" I disk),

TEST 2Gauge 32 (168 g.)

Y 160 170 170 l-H-lO" l-STD-lO" i-STD-l0" l-STD-l0" l-LT- 10" l-LT-8"TEST 3Gauge 30 (263 g.)

270 a 275 260 270 2-STD-l0" 2-LT-l0" ,Z-LT-IO" 2-LT-8" l-LT-8" 7 TEST4--Gauge 28 (427 g.)

425 420 430 420 l-STD-lO" l-STD-lO" 'lLT-IO" 24.1 10" l-LT-S 2-LT- s"l-STD- 10" l-LT-s" l'-LT- 10" The above table gives results of fourtests. As an example, in Test No. Ziacopper winding wire of gauge 30 wasused applying a nominal tension of 263 GMS (equal to 50 percent of theyield strength of '526 GMS). The result for-a speed of 250 FPM was twostandard disks, and the tension was kept constant by the two disks at270 GMS.

Analogously, with a speed of 500 FPM the result was two light disks of10" and one light disk of 8". The'tension kept'constant by thethreedisks was 2 7 5 QMS.

I claim:

1. A package for dispensing wire with preset tension comprising:

a. a generally cylindrical housing having an upper wall with a -centralpassageway forming a cover;

b. a spool of coiled wire having at least an upper annular flange end,the spool and associated flange end being nonrotatably secured in thehousing coaxially therewith and the housing having a wall surroundingthe annular flange and spaced therefrom to provide an annular wireconfining and unreeling space between the flange and wall; and

internal wire tensioning means including at least one disc membernonrotatably secured to the upper flange and having a plurality ofelongate resilient filaments thereon extending radially across saidannular space impeding the normal unwinding of the wire and adapted tobe struck and deflected momentarily by the rotary movement of wire beingpulled out of said passageway and passing along the periphery of saidflange through-said annular space while being unreeled to apply a presettension value to the wire, the density and size of said filaments beingso related to the gauge of wire and the geometric 1 characteristics ofthe package that the tension of 1 the wire during its unreeling will beconstant and predetermined. 2. A package as described in claim 1 inwhich at least a pair of substantially similar disc members are securedsuperimposed on the end flange, said elongate resilient filaments beingsandwiched between said disc members extending radially therefrom.

. 3. A package as described in claim 1 which includes: a spring clip;said spool of coiled wire having a bottom flange with a threaded openingtherethrough, said spring clip being engaged in the bottom flange; and athreaded fastener is engaged from exterior of the housing into saidthreaded opening for keeping the spool stationary during unwinding'ofthe wire.

4. A package as described in claim 1 in which said disc member isremovably secured to the end flange.

-7 .5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the density offilaments per inch length of the periphery of the flange ranges from 5to 25.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the length of thefilaments ranges from 1 inch to 3 inches.

7. A package for dispensing wire with preset tension comprising:

a. a generally cylindrical housing having an upper wall with a centralpassageway forming a cover; b. a spool of coiled wire having at least anupper annularflange end, the spool and associated flange end beingnonrotatably secured in the housing coaxially therewith and the housinghaving a wall surrounding the annular flange and spaced therefrom toprovide an annular wire confining and unreeling space between the flangeand wall, and

c. internal wire tensioning means including a ring member nonrotatablysecured to the inner wall of the housing and having a plurality ofelongate resilient filaments thereon extending radially across saidannular spacing impeding the normal unwinding of the wire and adapted tobe struck and deflected momentarily by the rotary movement of wire beingpulled out of said passageway and passing along the periphery of saidflange through said annular space while being unreeled to apply a presettension value to the wire, the density and size of said filaments beingso related to the gauge of wire and the geometric characteristics of thepackage that the tension of the wire during its unreeling willbeconstant and predetermined.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 7, wherein the density offilaments per inch length of the periphery of the flange ranges from 5to 25.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 7 wherein the length of thefilaments ranges from 1 inch to 3 inches.

1. A package for dispensing wire with preset tension comprising: a. agenerally cylindrical housing having an upper wall with a centralpassageway forming a cover; b. a spool of coiled wire having at least anupper annular flange end, the spool and associated flange end beingnonrotatably secured in the housing coaxially therewith and the housinghaving a wall surrounding the annular flange and spaced therefrom toprovide an annular wire confining and unreeling space between the flangeand wall; and c. internal wire tensioning means including at least onedisc member nonrotatably secured to the upper flange and having aplurality of elongate resilient filaments thereon extending radiallyacross said annular space impeding the normal unwinding of the wire andadapted to be struck and deflected momentarily by the rotary movement ofwire being pulled out of said passageway and passing along the peripheryof said flange through said annular space while being unreeled to applya preset tension value to the wire, the density and size of saidfilaments being so related to the gauge of wire and the geometriccharacteristics of the package that the tension of the wire during itsunreeling will be constant and predetermined.
 2. A package as describedin claim 1 in which at least a pair of substantially similar discmembers are secured superimposed on the end flange, said elongateresilient filaments being sandwiched between said disc members extendingradially therefrom.
 3. A package as described in claim 1 which includes:a spring clip; said spool of coiled wire having a bottom flange with athreaded opening therethrough, said spring clip being engaged in thebottom flange; and a threaded fastener is engaged from exterior of thehousing into said threaded opening for keeping the spool stationaryduring unwinding of the wire.
 4. A package as described in claim 1 inwhich said disc member is removably secured to the end flange.
 5. Thecombination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the density of filaments perinch length of the periphery of the flange ranges from 5 to
 25. 6. Thecombination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the length of the filamentsranges from 1 inch to 3 inches.
 7. A package for dispensing wire withpreset tension comprising: a. a generally cylindrical housing having anupper wall with a central passageway forming a cover; b. a spool ofcoiled wire having at least an upper annular flange end, the spool andassociated flange end being nonrotatably secured in the housingcoaxially therewith and the housing having a wall surrounding theannular flange and spaced therefrom to provide an annular wire confiningand unreeling space between the flange and wall, and c. internal wiretensioning means including a ring member nonrotatably secured to theinner wall of the housing and having a plurality of elongate resilientfilaments thereon extending radially across said annular spacingimpeding the normal unwinding of the wire and adapted to be struck anddeflected momentarily by the rotary movement of wire being pulled out ofsaid passageway and passing along the periphery of said flange throughsaid annular space while being unreeled to apply a preset tension valueto the wire, the density and size of said filaments being so related tothe gauge of wire and the geometric characteristics of the package thatthe tension of the wire during its unreeling will be constant andpredetermined.
 8. The combination as set forth in claim 7, wherein thedensity of filaments per inch length of the periphery of the flangeranges from 5 to
 25. 9. The combination as set forth in claim 7 whereinthe length of the filaments ranges from 1 inch to 3 inches.